The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-07-02
An Observing American.

Of Maine. and Mrs. Frye have arriv-
ed In London, after a three months
tour on the continent. The Senator
will remain in England until Aug
ust when he will return home. He
has visited Italy, Switzerland. Ger
many, France and the Netherlands.
In an interview to-day Senator Frye
said that the Italians were the COM
ing power In Europe. They have a
splendid army and navy. King
Humbert Is an adroit politician
and wise ruler. He does not care
tor the Pope, and the Senator thinks
that he has no idea of making any
concessions to Pope Leo, with the
object of gaining the benefit of his
influence. He said:
II found that Humbert has all
along been one to act alone. He has
done much to further the idea of ma
tional unity and to weaken church
influence In the army. Under Papal
rule. Italian cities stood alone and
were forbidden to have communica-
ton with each other. The residents
of Venice were known as Venitians,
of Genoa as Genoese, and 80 forth,
In the formation of the army the
regiments were made up of towns
men, according to the present French
fashion, in order to preserve the local
spirit, but Humbert has changed all
this. The army is now made up
without the slightest regard to local
divisions. The result is that all are
now Italians, and the nomenclature
of towns is fast disappearing"
Rome was disappointment to the
Senator. He could not look upon its
monuments of antiquity with any
pleasure, because he was impressed
with the thought that they all repre-
scented centuries of unpaid labor, the
sweat and blood of downtrodden and
oppressed slaves. Pompeii interested
him more than any place he visited.
There he saw evidences of human
advancement in the way of arcbitec-
ture, art, street paving, house deco
ration and furnishing equal, if not
superior, to anything known at the
present time.
In all the Continental countries
visited by him, he was struck by the
degradation of labor, by the starva-
ton wages. and the terribly onerous
taxation which took from the hum
blest a large share of his pittance.
The employment of women and of
boys as working cattle impressed him
deeply. In Venice ne found women
in the lace factories working IA and
16 hours day at maximum rate of
IL cents per diem.
In Switzerland, at one of the no.
tells, the porter. who worked without
salary. depending upon fees for his
living, was taxed $3.50 by the State.
The study of the labor question in
Europe rs made by Senator Frye
will give him new arguments in ia
vor of our protective system.
In Berlin Senator Frye witnessed
a military review of the German
army, and later, in Paris. he saw the
French troops. Upon the subject Of
their comparative merits, he said
"The French soldiers are vastly infer.
ior to the German. They are mainly
composed of boys, or of weak-chested
poorly-developed men. Their uni
forms are poor and shabby. They
can take no pride in them. The Ger
mans. on the contrary. are splendid
physical types and are well clothed.
The German private soldiers are
greatly superior to their officers.
There will be no war with France as
long as the German Emperor lives
and, 1 think, for the following reas-
on: The army is.the Empcror's de-
light; studying its details is his all
absorbing passion. Now. there has
been no war under his reign where
he has not gone with the army. At
present he is too old to go, and he
will not permit anyone else to take
his place. The emperor cannot live
long. I saw him several times. He
has grown very feeble. The general
opinion in Berlin is that the Crown
Prince has mortal disease. He is
very unpopular. Prince William,
his son, is, however, very popular,
and is the Emperor's idol"
In speaking of France. the Senator
said that 1t was sham republic. 1t
was tottering upon an uncertain
ground. No one in France wanted
war, but 1t was felt that the republic
might fall with a crash at any time
and that anything was possible. In
the United States he had thought
that the exile of the prince was a
mistake, but after he had visited